@DavidSB @ Davidb_52: You do realize that the film industry employs everyday people, don't you? You know - those people that pay rent or mortgages, have families to look after etc.

So get out of the mind set that the film industry is just about the actors etc.

Lots of people in BC will lose good paying jobs - and that is a sad thing.

Not to mention the offshoot companies that will be affected like catering companies etc.

@joes_2868 Your Government already did add to the PST Thumper Joe Go NDP Go

@joes_2868 You will find that the present government has already used up all wriggle room in respect of higher PST taxation.

For example, the 7 percent tax on used vehicles and boats will not be eliminated. Remember, this 7 percent was a way of ensuring more business went towards car dealers.

Also, remember all the items which were previously PST exempt? Well, many of these applied to garden soil, fertilizers, insulating products, energy-efficient goods, smoke alarms, safety googles, shoes etc. Now, if any previously PSP exempt item was time sensitive I.e., set to expire before reimplementation of PST, that is not going to happen.
So, it is not necessarily true that all PST exemptions as of July 1, 2010 will be restored as those were slated to expire anyways. Perhaps, that helps explain the foot dragging to avoid going back to those exemptions.

That said, we should all look forward to paying sales taxes which will actually go into government coffers...instead of going directly into the pockets of business. I want my taxes to pay for services-not to subsidize business.

@AndreaK_5056 @AndreaK_5056

Nobody is denying that other people are having hard times too but what the film community is proposing here makes sense not just from their perspective but from yours too.

Firstly the 'tax breaks' aren't targeted at the individual and their income tax but at the production company that employs the individual.
If a production decides to shoot in BC they pay taxes on every $ they spend. The tax credit program offers a reduction in those taxes as incentive for productions to shoot here.
Currently a lot of those productions decide to shoot elsewhere, not because film workers in Ontario make less or suppliers in Quebec are cheaper but because those provinces give more of the tax back.
So not only will there be some tax revenue from productions shooting here but the employed workers will then pay income tax rather than collect EI and they will spend more money resulting in more income for somebody else who then also pays more tax. The spin off effect is huge.
The basic decision here is whether we want all of nothing (nobody shoots here) or do you want less of something (increase tax credit to attract more productions).

If it fair that rich Hollywood producers want to shoot there movie as cheap as possible to make the most profit? No, it isn't.
Does it make sense for the province to have them shoot that movie here though? Yes, it does! Less of something will always be more than all of nothing.

Thank you

@AndreaK_5056 As any conservative or liberal would tell you is that the breaks must equal the returns. If we give you a $500M tax break, then we must expect the same in return. It's perfectly legitimate. That's why government employment does not make sense. Your payroll is, let's say $1B, but we will never see that convert in $1B in tax revenue based off of it.

@joes_2868 One more NDP government and BC will never recover - just take a look at Ontario. Their Liberal and NDP governments have made what was once a very prosperous Province to 'havenot' - same thing will happen in BC

And recovery will never happen